In a supermarket or food market, fresh produce is often displayed in bulk, possibly in piles of loose items. Consumers must take a bag from a nearby source, and then select and bag their own fruits and vegetables. Typically, the source of bags is a vertically or horizontally positioned cylindrical roll of flattened multi-ply plastic film bags supplied in continuous strips. The bags have perforated separation lines between them. Separation is accomplished by pulling the leading bag from the next bag on the role, and may be assisted by bag dispensing devices such as those disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,135,146, 5,261,585 and 5,433,363, which allow single-handed separation of a bag from the strip. A problem with bags provided on a continuous strip is that the user often finds it difficult to open the bag once it has been removed from the strip. The user may in fact find it difficult to determine which end of the removed bag is the end that opens. The slick finish of the thin film walls of the bag, the static adhesion of thin plastic films and the perforation forces applied to the films in order to provide the separation lines may cause the plies at the opening of the bag to resist separation. A user may be required to employ two hands to open the bag. This can be a nuisance when the consumer has already selected and is holding items to be placed in the bag.
An object of the present invention is to provide plastic bags that, even when supplied in continuous strips, are readily openable.
A further object is to provide a produce bag which is presented to the user in a partially opened state.
A further object of the invention is to provide a continuous strip of produce bags on a roll such that removing a leading bag from the roll readily identifies the opening end of an adjacent successive bag on the roll.